Bitcoins Lightning Network Powers Strikes Expansion in the Philippines

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Jack Mallers, founder and CEO of Zap Solutions, a bitcoin payment startup that uses the Lightning Network, says the company’s platform, Strike, now enables fast direct transfers of US dollars to banks and merchants. mobile money accounts in the Philippines.

On December 6, 2022, Strike announced its Send Globally feature, which enables instant, low-cost payments to Africa. Strikes Send Globally is available to all Strike users in the United States, with initial coverage for Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana.

Mallers had this to say at the time:

High fees, slow settlement and a lack of innovation in cross-border payments have had a negative impact on the developing world. With exorbitant fees to transfer funds in and out of Africa and incumbent providers interrupting their services, payment companies are struggling to operate in Africa and people cannot send money. money at home to family members. Strike offers people the ability to easily and instantly transfer their US dollars across borders.

According to the Strikespress release, to enable instant payments to Africa, Strike has partnered with African payment platform Bitnob. Using Lightning rails, Send Globally allows users to send money instantly to Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya with no transaction fees. Payments are converted into local currency and deposited directly into the recipient’s bank, mobile money or Bitnob account.

SEND WORLDWIDE

you can now send US dollars, which are received in local currency, to any supported phone number or bank account in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya

the recipient does not need a bitcoin wallet, a special account or even a smartphone

global payments reinvented pic.twitter.com/2sa9bR92gW

Strike (@Strike) December 8, 2022

In a series of tweets posted on Tuesday (January 31, 2023), Mallers explained why this is a significant development for the Philippine market, which is one of the largest remittance markets in the world, money transfers funds representing 9% of its GDP, or more than $35. billion dollars a year, including $12.7 billion from the United States alone.

According to the World Bank, the average cost of sending remittances to the Philippines is 4.57%, with the money taking days or even weeks to arrive. Despite the large volume of remittances to the country, more than 50% of its residents are unbanked, although nearly 2/3 own a mobile phone. This highlights unmet needs and opportunities for financial inclusion.

Mallers believes Bitcoin has the potential to solve these problems, as it acts as a superior means of payment for the world, providing an open, global, instant, and cheap settlement network. He argues that legacy payments are slow, proprietary, and lack the level of innovation needed to serve the world, especially the underbanked. On the other hand, according to Mallers, Bitcoin has the ability to improve the usual cross-border experience and bring in people who have been overlooked by legacy systems.

On January 5, 2021, Mallers announced at the MiamisBitcoin2021 conference that El Salvador plans to make Bitcoin a form of legal tender. During his speech, an emotional Mallers presented a recorded video message from President Bukele and read a short passage from the proposed bill. Mallers went on to say that his company would open an innovation center in El Salvador with help from Blockstream.

Image credit

Featured image via Pixelabay

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